CNN’s Mark Thompson announced Monday that he will be staying on as the network’s chairman and editor-in-chief, but some insiders were skeptical of his assurances that the left-leaning network won’t change course under new ownership.
With Paramount Skydance’s $81 billion acquisition of CNN’s parent Warner Bros. Discovery set to close Tuesday, Thompson will report directly to CEO David Ellison, the chairman and chief executive of the combined company named just Skydance, according to a press release. CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss is set to stay in her role, the announcement said.
“Having now spoken to [Skydance executives] at length on the topic, I have real confidence that they both understand and will fully support the principle and practice of the kind of independent news that CNN has always stood for,” Thompson wrote in a memo to employees.
However, a TV executive close to the situation said change was still on the horizon at CNN.
“[President] Trump will be furious if/when it doesn’t change. Ellison promised Trump it would. That’s what matters,” the source said.
“Thompson will be gone in 12 to 18 months. The simple truth is that Thompson is a temp. He is a stall tactic,” the person added.
Thompson’s current contract is due to expire in the spring, but he has been in talks with executives to renew his terms, the New York Times previously reported.
Thompson said in his memo that some of the “specifics of how CNN will plug into and operate in the new company have yet to be finalized” since the merger process is ongoing, but he will have “the same responsibilities and prerogatives that I have now.”
The TV exec speculated that Thompson will merge CNN and CBS to “save cost,” and then a new CEO will likely be hired to run the combined company.
“It’s nonsensical to run two very expensive news divisions in one global news company,” the person said, adding that Weiss is unlikely to end up running the combined companies.
Monday’s press release said Weiss, who’s overseen controversial shakeups at CBS since Ellison hand-picked her last year, will remain in her current role.
“There was a collective groan in the group chat,” a CBS source said of the release.
“They’ll find a face-saving thing for her but CNN was the big goal and then for them to leave it with Mark in place is telling … for now, anyway,” the person added.
Weiss was initially promised CNN when she took over CBS News, but Ellison subsequently concluded “her current role is more than she can handle,” a person with knowledge of the situation previously told The Post.
A CNN source welcomed the decision to preserve the status quo for now.
The outlet’s lefty staffers “think it’s the best possible outcome given the circumstances, but [they are] still worried about the ‘synergies’ — and thankful no Bari,” the person said.
As for possible changes to the network’s editorial slant, the source said, “Mark wouldn’t sign up for that.”
“He doesn’t want to be told what to do. He said that from day one,” the insider added.
The CBS source speculated the potential for shakeups at CNN ” all depends on Trump.”
“If he throws more tantrums, etc., maybe Ellison will feel like he needs to appease him,” the person added.
“There may be some symbolic offerings to Trump,” the person mused, “firing Kaitlan [Collins] or something like that.”
As negative headlines have piled up for Weiss, she’s remained in the good graces of Ellison and his dad Larry Ellison — the billionaire Oracle co-founder who is backing the Paramount-WBD deal.
The Ellison elder “still loves Bari” — who made a name for herself fighting wokeism in media and advocating for against-the-grain causes — and wants to keep her on, said a source close to the situation. Another person said the company could eventually pivot to a single executive running both CNN and CBS News.
At the combined Skydance, Ellison will focus on the company’s long-term strategy and creative vision, while new co-CEO Ynon Kreiz will focus on the company’s day-to-day management and integration of the combined businesses, according to Monday’s press release.
Ellison, Kreiz and Andy Gordon, president of Skydance, will also all serve on the board of directors, with Ellison as chairman.
The Ellisons recently reached an antitrust settlement with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who organized a coalition of 12 lefty attorneys general who opposed the deal on fears it could raise prices, hurt workers and reduce film releases.
It included an agreement to install independent editorial boards to oversee CNN and CBS News, following concerns the Ellisons – close allies of President Trump – could sway the coverage on the storied networks.
Prior to joining CNN in 2023, Thompson served as president and chief executive of the New York Times, leading the news outlet’s digital transformation.
He said he will continue his work on CNN’s digital subscription business and that the company’s new leaders “are as excited about it as we are.”
